Negation in Brazilian Sign Language: a corpus-based description

Rosani Kristine Paraíso Garcia,
Guilherme Lourenço
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Abstract

This article investigates the presence of manual and non-manual markers in negative sentences in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). Our objectives are to verify the presence or omission of the sign NÃO (NO) in negative constructions and other manual markers (e.g., negative signs) and to investigate the presence of non-manual markers in negative constructions in Libras. The methodological approach adopted for this research is based on data analysis extracted from the Libras Corpus, annotated using linguistic data annotation software for videos. Additionally, we utilized the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to encode the different movements and changes in mouth contour in these negative sentences. Our results indicate that negation in Libras appears to be primarily marked by non-manual markers, as the NÃO sign appeared in less than half of our data. In contrast, the vast majority of negative constructions exhibited some type of mouth contour modification. These results support the theoretical analysis by Arrotéia (2005), which suggests that mouth shape changes are the main licensors and markers of negation in Libras. The fact that Libras marks negative sentences primarily through mouth articulation also aligns with the work of Benitez-Quiroz, Wilbur, and Martinez (2016), who propose the existence of a universal facial expression of negation that has been grammaticalized from the combination of different facial expressions indicating moral negative judgment.

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